The Motion Picture Association of America, the organization that not only rates the films that we see inside theaters but also has veto power over what’s allowed to hang outside of them, just rejected a poster for the release of the award-winning documentary Taxi to the Dark Side. The film, about the current use of torture everywhere from Abu Ghraib to Guantanamo Bay, has already won best documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival, and is shortlisted for the Academy Award.

The poster image is based on a news photo of two U.S. soldiers walking away from the camera with a hooded detainee between them. The MPAA objects to the hood, deeming it inappropriate to be seen by children.

As I think about the issue, what comes to mind—apart from the ridiculousness of allowing any organization to wield this sort of power—is the following question:

Can anyone out there point to a similar situation in book publishing? While there’s no uber-organization in publishing which can veto a book cover, it’s possible that a chain could refuse to carry an individual book if the cover was deemed by them to be inappropriate, resulting in a publisher making alterations lest it suffer financial harm. I know that in magazine publishing, covers that have been considered too risque have been yanked from certain chains, but what about books?

Anyone out there know of specific examples? Or am I imagining an issue where there is none?